Ep 127 | Cover to Cover 6 | Pastor Chris Ryan | Feb 8, 2026

Hello, this is Pastor Ryan Clark.

You are listening to a message from St.

John's Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Minnesota.

Oh Lord open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praises.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Well, a while back I got this fancy smartwatch from Apple that you see me wearing right here, right now.

It has countless amazing features on there, most of which I do not use at all.

In fact, I really only use this watch for two things.

And believe it or not, one of those things is not to see what time it is.

I use it for the step counter that's on there.

I love seeing how many steps I get each and every day.

I've got quite the streak of 12,000 steps a day going.

It's probably what I do best.

Feel free to ask me about it after this sermon.

I also use this watch for the reminder function that is on there.

It reminds me of countless things I would've forgotten or forgotten to do without it.

For example, before I started using the reminder feature on here, my wife might come to me and say, Pastor Ryan, she calls me that sometimes.

Pastor Ryan, would you remember to get me some eggs from Walmart after confirmation class tonight? And I'd say, of course, absolutely.

I'll do it.

I'm there.

But then confirmation class would end.

I'd get in the car and you know where I drove.

I drove straight home, I'd come through the front door entirely.

Egg less an absolute failure.

I'm ashamed.

Everyone's disappointed.

It's a tough night for everyone.

Now, the second my wife says, Hey, Pastor Ryan, would you mind getting some eggs from Walmart after confirmation class tonight? I turned to my watch and I press this button right here and I say, set reminder.

And it says back to me.

What would you like to be reminded about? And I say into it, "Get eggs after confirmation at 7:45 PM."

It says, okay, I've added it.

Wednesday night, confirmation class ends, 7:45 PM comes around, I'm about to get in my car and you know where I'm headed.

I'm about to drive straight home again.

But now my watch goes buz buz and I look down and I say, oh yeah, I'm supposed to get those eggs after confirmation class tonight.

Now I get in the car, I drive to Walmart, I get those eggs, and when I come through the front door, I'm not a failure anymore.

I'm an absolute hero.

Eggs everywhere.

Everyone is having a great night.

And now I use this reminder feature for just about everything.

Set reminder, dentist appointment tomorrow, 2:30 PM.

Set reminder, take out the trash tomorrow, 7:30 AM.

Set reminder, July 9th, 6:00 AM.

Today, it's your anniversary.

July 9th, 6:00 AM rolls around.

My watch goes, buz buz, I'm in bed and I look down at it and I say, oh yeah, today's my anniversary.

I turn over to Catherine and I say, Hey, honey, happy anniversary.

And she says back, oh babe, you remembered.

Of course I did.

How could I forget? Right? How could I forget? Has anyone said that line recently at all? How could I forget? We have all kinds of things that we look back and we say we absolutely should have remembered that, right? But somehow, some way it slipped our mind.

We all struggle with forgetfulness.

There are some times when we all need reminders.

And if you'll recall our readings this week in our two year Bible read through, they featured a man in Abraham or Abraham, depending on where you're at in the story.

A man who absolutely needed reminders.

He needed reminders of these incredible promises that God had made to him.

And believe it or not, he gets those reminders from God Almighty himself.

And St.

John's family, we get to see just how good, gracious, loving and patient our God is, based on the good, gracious, loving patient reminders he gives to Father Abraham.

Let's go ahead and I'll refresh your memory on that story right now.

It begins at Genesis 12 with these words, The Lord had said to Abram, go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land.

I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.

I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you.

And whoever curses you, I will curse.

And all peoples on Earth will be blessed through you.

So Abram went, as the Lord had told them, and lot went with him.

Abram was 75 years old when he set out from Harran; some incredible promises that God makes to Abram, right? And oh, by the way, just a quick reminder here.

God always keeps his promises, doesn't he? When he says he's going to do something, it's as good as done Numbers 23:19, God is not a human that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.

Numbers 23:19

Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? When God makes a promise, he always keeps it.

So these incredible promises that God made to Abram, they're as good as done.

He says, Abram, I'm gonna make you into a great nation.

And that's going to come true despite the fact that Abram is 75 years old and childless.

And we know that one day Abram has so many descendants that they fill up an entire nation.

Promise made, promise kept Abram, I'm gonna make your name great.

We're still talking about 'em today, several thousand years later, aren't we? Abram? All peoples on Earth will be blessed through you.

Check, check, check, right? In fact, through Abram's lineage, one day, we get our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who dies to meet the biggest need that we all have, the forgiveness of our sins.

When God makes a promise, it's as good as done.

And these promises will come true once Abram leaves his homeland and moves to the land of Canaan that will one day be called Israel.

Of course, if you follow the story along close, you'll see that Abram was just a little bit hesitant to fully follow God's command.

At first, in Acts 7, we find out that Abram initially lived in the land of Mesopotamia.

It's that little red circle that you can see up there on that map.

God told Abram to go from Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan, the land of Israel.

That green circle there.

But he doesn't go directly there.

God says, go west, young man.

And Abraham, well, he goes northwest.

He goes up to the land of Iran and he spends quite some time there until his father dies.

And then, and only then does he head south to the land of Canaan.

Perhaps a little bit of delayed obedience if you ask me.

Also a little bit of partial obedience.

God tells Abraham to go from his country as people and his father's household to the land.

He's supposed to leave all of that behind.

But he doesn't quite do that now, does he? He takes a little, someone with him, his nephew, Lot.

And if you know the story well, you'll know that Lot causes more than a little trouble for Abraham.

But despite all that, despite Abraham's apparent, partial, and delayed obedience, he still experiences God's promises one day.

Because those promises, they weren't dependent on Abram being perfect.

They were dependent on God being good to his word, and God always keeps his promises.

Now, if you fast forward 10 years from Genesis 12, the Genesis 14, we find that now 85-year-old Abram is still waiting for those promises to come true.

And in Genesis 14, we find Abram is full of doubts.

His faith seems to have disappeared.

And he's really scared.

If you remember the story from this week, you'll see in Genesis 14 that Abram has apparently offended the King of Sodom.

The King of Sodom offered Abram a gift, and Abram says, I'm not taking anything from the likes of you.

Well, Abram, he's worried that that offense is going to lead to his untimely demise before he's had that promised child.

In Genesis 15, God comes to Abram now and he reassures them that he's going to keep him safe and keep his promises.

He says to Abram, don't be afraid.

Abram, I'm your shield.

Your very great reward basically says, Abram, reminder, I'm God Almighty and I am on your side, and I am fighting your battles for you.

I will keep you safe.

Abram responds to this promise of safety at God's hand in a very, very strange way if you ask me.

A couple verses later, here's what he says back to God.

He says, God, you have given me no children, so a servant in my household will be my heir.

It's a strange way to respond to that promise of safety, isn't it? But if you read between the lines, what Abram is basically saying is this, why should I believe you? Why should I believe that promise that you're gonna keep me safe because you haven't kept that other promise to me.

I still don't have any children.

So what's up? Now, if you don't know the story, you might expect God to say, how dare you question me, Abram, I'm God almighty, and who are you to question me? But that's not what happens with Abram.

In fact, God gives him a gentle reminder that he is a promise making and promise keeping God.

It says God takes Abram outside and says, look up at the sky and count the stars if indeed you can count them.

Then he said to him, so shall your offspring be, and God bless him.

Abram hears this reminder of God's promises and he believes, and we see that in what's going to be our highlighted verse of the day, Genesis 15:6.

Genesis 15:6

If you brought your Bibles, go ahead and open them up and highlight that verse.

It is an absolute incredible verse.

God says to Abram, I'm going to keep my promises.

And Abram believed the Lord and he credited to him as righteousness.

God gives Abram that reminder, and Abraham basically says back to God, alright, I trust you.

Amen.

If you're in my confirmation class right now, you don't need a reminder.

At least I hope you don't on what that Hebrew word Amen literally means.

It's a word we end all of our prayers with, isn't it? When we say that word, it's not just a filler word, it literally means "Yes, yes, it shall be so!" Abram basically says back to God when he reminds him of his promise.

Yes, yes, it shall be so, it's says, good as done.

Genesis 15:6, It's a great verse.

Genesis 15:6

And by the way, it's a great reminder that we are saved by faith alone through grace alone, right? Even in the Old Testament.

Genesis 15:6, A great verse.

Genesis 15:6

Genesis 15, a great chapter.

In fact, if you're read through the rest of it, you'll see God giving Abram many more reminders of his promises and God reaffirms his covenant with Abram again and again.

And if you're fresh off of reading that chapter, you'd probably say, wow, Abram must have never doubted God ever again.

I mean, what faith? And if you think that all you'd have to do is turn the page to realize that you'd be wrong, because in Genesis 16, a few years has passed and all of a sudden Abram, he's full of doubts again.

He still doesn't have his child, and he's looking at his situation.

He says, God must not be going to keep his promise to give me an heir through Sarai.

So he takes matters into his own hands, doesn't he? He takes Sari's maid servant, Hagar.

He sleeps with her.

He gets her pregnant.

They have a child together named Ishmael.

And Ishmael causes all kinds of issues.

And those issues all truly arose because Abram doubted God's promise.

And if you read through Genesis 16 as a whole, now you might go back the other way and say, wow, God must be done with this guy, Abram.

It's gonna be bad.

The next time those two meet, it's gonna be biblically bad.

But if you think that once again you'd be wrong and you'd realize that as soon as you turn the page.

Look at the interaction that God and Abram have the next time they meet in Genesis 17, God says to Abram, as for me.

This is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.

No longer will you be called Abram.

Your name will be Abraham for I have made you a father of many nations.

I will make you very fruitful.

He doesn't say, Abram, I'm done with you.

No, he reminds Abram of his promises once again.

In fact, he goes as far to change Abram's name to Abraham, right.

God says, Abraham, you seem to be forgetting these promises a lot, so now every time you hear your new name, you'll remember them.

That name Abraham means "Father of Many."

It's an incredible reminder made all the more incredible by how now Abraham responds to those promises.

In Genesis 17:17, it says, Abraham fell face down and he laughed and said to himself, will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of 90? And Abraham said to God, if only Ishmael might live under your blessing.

Genesis 17:17

Come on man.

Are you kidding me? He needs more reminders of God's promises.

How could you possibly doubt with all these interactions you've had with God? And once again, you say, wow, God has to be done with this guy now.

Let's recount where we've been so far in this story, Abraham, and this is just a partial list, by the way, so far, has responded to God's promises by...

Not going directly to the land, By bringing lot with him.

He was supposed to leave his father's household behind, By sleeping with Hagar to produce an heir because he didn't trust God's promises.

He needs constant reminders that God is going to keep his promises.

We see some in Genesis 15.

16, 17 and more, by the way.

And in that last one that we read in Genesis 17, he laughs back at God's reminder.

Like I said, you would probably think that God was done with this guy.

I've given him too many chances.

But in Genesis 17, God doesn't say, nevermind, I've had enough.

Rather, he reaffirms his covenant with Abraham throughout that chapter.

And if you turn a couple pages and we turn one year in the timeline, just one year after Abraham laughs at God, this is the scene that we get.

A 100-year-old Abraham, a 90-year-old Sarah, and a newborn baby boy Isaac.

And of course Isaac's name means laughter.

And God does get the last laugh in this case, doesn't he? And of course, they were gonna have that baby right.

Because that baby, that promise wasn't dependent on Abram being perfect.

No, not at all.

It was dependent on God being good to his word.

And --buz buz--just a quick reminder here.

God always keeps his promises.

It's a great story.

And if we look at our own story, by the way, I'm sure we all see just a little bit of Abraham in us.

And I'm not talking about necessarily that faithfulness that we read about in Genesis 15:6.

Genesis 15:6

God too gives us incredible promises that at times we forget slash don't believe or we think they're not gonna come true because I've strayed too far this way or that.

Here's a couple of promises I've seen people need constant reminders about in my time as a Pastor.

Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

How could God work any good out of this situation, some people say.

Hebrews 13:5, Never will I leave you.

Hebrews 13:5

Never will I forsake you.

I don't see you anywhere in my situation, God.

So what's up? If you are struggling to believe God's promises, if you feel like you need a reminder at many times of God's promises, then my very important point of the day is for you.

When we struggle to believe or we simply forget God's amazing promises, there's something he wants us to do.

He wants us to look to the cross and remember.

And remember.

He is a promise making, and promise keeping God.

When we see Jesus hanging on that cross crucified just for you, beaten bloody, that is a reminder that God always keeps his promises.

On the cross, we see God keeping that first incredible promise that he ever made to us.

Genesis 3:15, that Protoevangelium, that first highlighted verse in this two year sermon series, fresh off of that first sin by Adam and Eve.

Genesis 3:15

God says to that snake, Satan.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.

Fresh off of that first sin, this is God's promise that he is going to crush sin, Satan, and death once and for all.

And on the cross we see promise made, promise kept.

That's exactly what Jesus did just for you.

And God keeps this promise, by the way, despite the fact that we so often act just like Abram, God keeps this promise to send a savior despite the fact that we don't always go the direction fully that he wants us to go, do we? He keeps this promise, despite the fact that we so often take things on our journey with us that were not supposed to be taken with us, right? There are all kinds of sins we're supposed to be leaving behind, but we say, I'm taking that one with me.

But, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us because that promise of a Savior, it wasn't dependent on us being perfect, it was dependent on God being good to his word, and God always keeps his promises.

So now when we struggle with unbelief, when we're looking at God's promises and saying, I'm not sure this is gonna come true when we need that reminder, God wants us to look to the cross, and then he wants us to look to a verse like Romans 8:32, which says, He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also along with him, graciously give us all things? In other words, if God was willing to do that.

Romans 8:32

If he was willing to sacrifice his only Son, his Son, that he loves to keep a promise to you, of course he's going to keep all of the other promises.

So now when we need that reminder that we have a promise making and promise keeping God, we look to the cross and we say, oh yeah, how could I forget? My God doesn't break his word.

And now we look back at that promise that we were struggling to believe, and instead of doubt, we just say.

Amen.

Yes, yes, it shall be so, Amen, because of Jesus.

Amen.

You've been listening to a sermon from St.

John's Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Minnesota.

If you would like more information about St.

John's and any of our ministries to our community and beyond, you can go to our website, www.

stjohnsbuffalo.

org.

Thank you and God bless you.